Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Pushes Midair Rocket Launch to Monday

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Pushes Midair Rocket Launch to Monday:

[...] LauncherOne is Virgin's take on an orbital launch system. Rather than blasting off from the ground like SpaceX, Rocket Lab or other competitors, founder Richard Branson's concept involves attaching a small rocket to the belly of a modified 747, flying it above 75 percent of Earth's atmosphere and launching it from there.

[...] The company planned to do a full demonstration launch Sunday, May 24, but a screwy sensor prompted the team to scrub for the day "out of an abundance of caution."

The company tweeted that the issue should be resolved quickly, which would allow for the launch to still go forward during its backup window on Monday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PT. The plan is for Cosmic Girl to take off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California and release the LauncherOne rocket over the Pacific Ocean. After a few seconds of free fall, the rocket's engine will ignite in midair for the first time and head toward low earth orbit.

[...] If Monday's demonstration launch goes well, the company will begin prepping for its first paid launch, a collaboration between NASA and universities to launch small satellites. That launch could happen as soon as June 29.

First Test Launch by Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Postponed:

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit postponed its first space launch Sunday due to a technical problem.

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